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"The Con Artiste"

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sadagopaniyengar • April 14, 2003 


                
        Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



                       The Con Artiste  

 

        All of us would have fallen for the pitch of a Con Artiste, sometime or the other and however cautious we are. The confidence trickster who has perfected his art is so eminently believable that we end up buying junk bonds or worthless appliances at many times their normal price. At the least, we might lend money to this person, carried away by his credible spiel, persuading ourselves that we are helping some worthy cause. There have been instances of gullible investors having bought the Eiffel Tower and the Washington Monument, believing implicitly in the title of the seller with the apparently impeccable credentials.

 

    We wouldn't be surprised to learn that the confidence trick is as old as the hills and has been practiced by eminent exponents of the art, from time immemorial. 

 

As in everything else, it is the Lord who leads the pack, when it comes to the question of obtaining things on false premises. Who would be able to forget the trick He played on the unsuspecting MahAbali, who, from being the undisputed Emperor of the three worlds, was reduced to a pauper without a pinhead of land to call his own? When the Lord came to his YAgashAla in the form of a beautiful, three-foot tall Brahmachari , Mahabali was honoured to receive the VAmana , so obviously taken in by the latter's demeanour that he intemperately promised to give the diminutive figure whatever he wanted, despite the advice of his Acharya.

And he made fun of the Brahmachari for asking for just three feet of land, that too  measured with his own tiny foot-a mere nothing, compared to what Mahabali was prepared to offer. The deceitful Brahmachari was insistent on his demand and Mahabali gave him what he wanted, wondering at the propensity of some to ask for mere baubles, when the giver was prepared to part with riches beyond imagination, in the manner of some devotees praying to the Lord for material boons, when the latter is prepared to grant Moksha itself, just for the asking.

 

However, it was only when the innocent student started measuring the land that the truth came out. Growing from a diminutive dwarf into a gigantic figure encompassing the broad canvass of the earth and skies, the Lord measured all the lower worlds with one colossal tiruvadi and the upper ones with the other, leaving Mahabali in debt for the third foot of the Promised Land. Wouldn't you agree now that the Lord Himself is the first and foremost con artiste in recorded history?

Bhagavatas should not rise up in arms at this apparent insult to Emperuman. I am only repeating what Azhwars, and principally Sri Nammazhwar, has to say about the whole episode-

 

"ariyAmai KuraLAi nilam MAvali  moovadi endru

  ariyAmai vanchitthAi"

 

A tasty titbit here for the connoisseur -being a habitual donor, used to giving munificently all that is sought by Bhaktas, the Lord is entirely unused to asking for alms. This is reflected in the phraseology of His request for the three feet of land, and in the improper alignment of the words. Against the normal "Mavali! moovadi nilam tA", the Lord, unused to seeking bhikshA, says "nilam mAvali moovadi tA"

 

Azhwar reminds the Lord of His unsavoury deed by calling Him "vanjanE"(Thou Deceiver!")-"gyAlam koLvAn KuraL Agiya vanjanE".

 

 There are several people who have taken a leaf from the Lord's book, as far as disguise, deception, dishonesty and duplicity are concerned, though precious few ever emulate His other sterling deeds. We have the example of MArIchA, who, prompted by gratitude towards and fear of Ravana, took the form of a bewitching golden deer to lure away Sri Rama and His brother, to facilitate the abduction of Sri Mythili. The extraordinarily beautiful deer had brilliant gems adorning the tips of its horns, silver spots enhancing its golden hue, an adorable mixture of black and white playing on its face, its liquid brown eyes resembling a lotus in full bloom, soft, flower-like ears, a raised neck reminding one of a graceful dancer's and an upraised tail resembling a colourful rainbow. It had a reddish glow like the early-morning Sun and spots resembling shining stars. Anyone who had sighted this deer would have instantly wanted to make it his or her own, to play with it, to pet it and make it one's constant companion. It i

 

                 In Act II of the same drama in Aranya Kanda, we come across another artistic performance by an equally talented con artiste-none other than Dasamukha Ravana, who hides nine of his heads and assumes the garb of a holy man, a sanyAsi -"ParivrAjaka roopa dhrik". With becoming ochre robes, long hair worn in a jatA, an umbrella and wooden slippers, a staff that is the constant companion of sanyAsis and a Kamandalu, Ravana is the very picture of renunciation and the VEda ghOsham emanating from his lips adds credence to his demeanour. Ravana could create such an impression on the innocent Sita devi that She invited him into the Ashrama and offered him a seat and fruits. What happened next is history.

 

               The same Ramayana recounts the episode of another confidence trickster, Indra, who, falling for the charms of Ahalya (patni of Goutama Maharshi), assumes the very form of her husband to satisfy his desire. Ahalya is so taken in by the identity in looks and behaviour that she falls an unwitting prey to Indra's debauchery. It is noteworthy that this episode is recounted in the Aruna Prasna of the TaittirIya Aranyakam.

 

            If men could be such successful tricksters, could women be far behind? In fact, with their natural reserve of histrionic talents, ladies make much better con artistes than their male counterparts. Lest this should invite the ire of lady readers, I would hasten to add that this is not my judgement, but that of Sri BhAgavata Purana, which recounts in detail the bewitching form assumed by PootanA at the behest of Kamsa, for killing the infant Krishna. "TAy uruvAgi vanda pEy" says Sri Tirumangai Mannan, attesting to the endearing beauty of Pootana, which was not that of a seductive siren, but one aimed at capturing the attention and affection of an infant. Otherwise, she could have hardly got past the stringent security in NandagOkulam, tightened further in the wake of numerous attacks on the divine child from various quarters. She cuddled Krishna with apparent love and in the most maternal of gestures, bared her poisonous breast  ("nanju amar mulai") to feed the boy. Alas, she knew not that the one 

 

  However, Azhwars talk of another type of confidence tricksters, widely prevalent in this world. These are more dangerous and more accomplished than any of the specimens described above and have been practising their art from time immemorial. Their trickery becomes all the more audacious, considering that it is aimed at deceiving no less a person than the Lord and His devotees. While the vast majority of SriVaishnavas are genuine people, there is a minuscule percentage which sports all the outward signs of an ardent devotee. They wear dvAdasa Urdhva pundrams, beads of lotus around their necks and all other requisites of Sri Vaishnava svarUpam. To the uninformed onlooker, they look verily like the Lord Himself come to the earth, with their eyes brimming over with compassion, their words full of milk and honey and deeds apparently in tune with their mission of mercy. The thoughts hiding in the dark recesses of their hearts are however far from pure, filled with the basest of desires and unholy strategies for 

 

According to Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar, this type of tricksters is the worst of the lot, seeking, as it does, to deceive the Lord Himself and His votaries through the demeanour of divinity-

 "uLLatthE urayum MAlai  uLLuvAn uNarvu ondru illa

  KaLlatthEn nAnum tondAi tondukkE kOlam poondu

  ULLuvAr uLLittru ellAm udan irundu aridi endrE

  VeLgi pOi ennuLe nAn vilavara chiritthittEnE"

 

 The temerity of these con artists, seeking to pull wool over the eyes of the Lord Himself, and their failure to realise that He knows each intimate thought of theirs the moment it is conceived, so tickles Azhwar's sense of humour that he bursts out into boisterous laughter at their futile audacity and impudence.

 

Taking stock of one's personal balance sheet is perhaps the most difficult of endeavours. An honest appraisal of the sincerity or otherwise of the emotions one displays towards Emperuman often eludes people like me. The only way to turn one's assumed emotions of piety and devotion would perhaps be to enact them with greater intensity, in the hope of their turning true sometime in the future, made possible by the boundless compassion of the Lord, who might laugh at our antics but never forsakes us for good. He might perhaps mark it up to our credit that we at least feigned bhakti and being a "SatyakAma", will the spurious emotion to be turned into the genuine article.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 



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